Sexual abuse suspect to report to police regularly

A parents meeting was held on Friday

The Public Prosecutions Office requires a kindergarten assistant suspected of sexually abusing minors to make periodic submissions to police authorities while the investigation is ongoing.

The staff member of D. José da Costa Nunes kindergarten, a 30 year old male worker who has been working at the school as an assistant since 2015, is accused of sexually abusing children in his care, after the parents of three children came forward and claimed the Philippine national “inappropriately touched” them.

According to a statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the case has already been referred to the Judiciary Police for investigation as to whether the suspect committed the crime of child sexual abuse under the Criminal Code. Under the Criminal Code, an act of sexual abuse against a minor is punishable by imprisonment of between one and eight years.

The suspect is now required to present himself to authorities on a regular basis.

“In view of the seriousness of the case and the actual situation, the criminal investigation judge, under the [advice] of the prosecutor, has imposed coercive measures on the accused, namely, periodic submission,” the Office wrote.

Meanwhile, a parents meeting was held with the Association for Macanese Education’s (APIM) board, the school director, and staff of the kindergarten on Friday night to explain the situation. According to witnesses, the meeting involved a heated discussion with many parents expressing concerns over how the education institution handled the case. APIM’s president,, Miguel Senna Fernandes vowed to introduce changes in the recruitment process and other aspects of the school’s management.

One controversial aspect of the school’s handling is whether it did enough to prevent the alleged offences. The first suspicion of sexual assault attempt occurred in October, but the kindergarten teacher decided not to report the case to the school’s director.

The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau is now following up on the case, demanding that a report be submitted by the D. José da Costa Nunes kindergarten. The bureau called on the public to await the outcome of the investigation before reaching any conclusions.

The parents of children at the kindergarten have been invited to attend two talks next week on sex education and parental guidance for minors. The talks will be conducted in Chinese and Portuguese.